THE FIRST ANNUAL SPORT FISHING FORUM IN BCS WILL BRING TOGETHER POLICYMAKERS, ACADEMICS, AND RESEARCHERS
This event seeks to undertake actions that favor the sustainable development of sport fishing.
· February 22 and 23 at the Hotel Tesoro in Cabo San Lucas, BCS.
· Don’t miss the “First Annual Sport Fishing Forum in Baja California Sur,” during which the status of sport fishing in our State will be analyzed. There will be limited space; pre-registration is open at www.foros.fonmar.gob.mx.
· Sustainable fishing unites us
#FonmarBCS
#foroannualpescadeportiva2023
Baja (Norte)
JD’s Big Game Tackle – Fish Report
https://www.jdsbiggame.com/report.htm
Bull Ring
Like everywhere else, fishing for surface fish is miserably slow along the coast. Bass fishing isn’t much better, either. Water is cold and dirty, also like everywhere else.
We heard of a few short calico bass in the kelp this morning in the Bull Ring area.
Some boats manage to score a few bass and sculpin on the Imperial Beach Pipe with a lead head and squid combo.
There is also a fair bite on whitefish at Buoy #3, but there are lots of little rockfish by-catch, so be sure and bring a descending device. You are going to need it! …Fishdope.com
Coronado Islands / Rockpile / NE of the Coronados / Lower 9 Mile Bank / Upper Finger Bank…
We had a contact give the Islands a look and found no sign of surface fish. No yellows, no bonito and no barracuda!
He said the water temp was hovering around 56 all over. “The high was 55, and the low was 56 degrees. The color of the water also wasn’t good. It was dirty green to almost brown in spots!”
He looked at North Island, the Middle Grounds, and South Island and zig-zagged around on the Flats above the Rock Pile.
He did score a few reds and a nice lingcod at the Rock Pile, but that was it.
Rockfish are biting very well just across the border at the Lower 9 and the area NE of North Island.
Boats are getting good scores of mixed red rockfish, plenty of whitefish, and the odd lingcod in 180 to 400 feet.
Some guys are doing better fishing deeper on the Lower 9 and down on the Upper Finger Bank in 500 to 700 feet of water. Better quality reds, with better numbers of lingcod, are showing here. …Fishdope.com
Rosarito Pier
The weather is not cooperating!!!
Ensenada
The bonito fishing slowed way down. Water temps dropped, and the bonito bugged out. They could return at any time, though. No yellowtail as of late. Most local boats run down the beach to Santo Tomas or Soledad for nice quality reds, bocaccio, and lingcod. …Fishdope.com
Colonet
There were a few boats down here today, but post time, we have not heard anything about how they did.
In general, that probably means the yellowtail bite was once again slow. …Fishdope.com
San Quintin
Not much is happening down here – cold, windy, and wet! …Captain Juan Cook
Great time fishing on Bahia de San Quintin yesterday with Captain Eddy out of Garcias Pangas Sportfishing, San Quintin. My largest lingcod since 2006! So much fun! Thank you to our Captain and Pat Anderson, and Danee Lynn Murray. What a blast!! Beverly Hawley-Martin
Bahia de Los Angeles No Report…
South (Baja Sur)
THE FIRST ANNUAL SPORT FISHING FORUM IN BCS WILL BRING TOGETHER POLICYMAKERS, ACADEMICS, AND RESEARCHERS
This event seeks to undertake actions that favor the sustainable development of sport fishing.
Don’t miss the “First Annual Sport Fishing Forum in Baja California Sur,” during which the current status of sport fishing in our State will be analyzed.
February 22 and 23 at the Hotel Tesoro in Cabo San Lucas, BCS.
· There will be limited space; pre-registration is open at www.foros.fonmar.gob.mx.
· Sustainable fishing unites us!
· #foroannualpescadeportiva2023
Whale Magic Tours South of Guerrero Negro
Another magical day on Laguna Ojo de Liebre…glassy, calm, and loving whales!! …Shari Bondy
Punta Abreojos
The Black Bass Lodge – Fishing, Surfing, Eating, Adventure Lodge
Remote, private, and completely off-the-grid, the Black Bass Lodge is a destination located just steps from the beach in Punta Abreojos, Baja California Sur, where the surrounding reefs are abundant with fish, and the waves bring surfers from all over the world…www.BlackBassLodge.com
Conception Bay
Fishing has been slower as the yellowtail is in the transition period. Nicer-grade fish are being caught on the surface boils using surface iron. The boils are sporadic, and you must be at the right place and time! The deeper bite has slacked off. We caught two yellowtail at first light with Keith from Black Bass Lodge and their 85-year-old father.
A small Humpback Whale was feeding next to us most of the morning. As the spawn gets closer, yellowtail can be found in shallower waters around the islands (San Marcos, San Ynez, Ildefonso). They have the spawn on their mind!…Nathan Burbey
Loreto
The 4th annual fishing tournament is just four short months away!
Enjoy some of the best sportfishing in the world at @mpefishingtournament this May. Recruit a team and sign up for Baja’s newest, most exciting, and unique fishing tournament in Baja Sur!
Visit MPEFISHINGTOURNAMENT.COM to register today
Blue whales, blue whales, blue whales, almost every tourist boat has been hanging out with the big creatures this week. Yellowtail fishing has been fair for the local captains. Lobo and San Bruno are the action spots. Captain “Gali” is calling the start of the serious action won’t start until we slide out of February. Warmer water and calmer winds will be a welcome change.
The surface action that has been happening all over the area revolves around feeding baitfish. When the water flattens out you can see foaming 2-inch long “sardina” swarms that go on for acres. I am surprised that we are not finding some exploded predator fish with all the food in the water.
March is only days away in Baja!...Rick Hill
Lopez Mateos
Cold, rain, and wind don’t seem to have much impact on the catch!
La Paz
MEXICAN MINUTE LA PAZ FISHING REPORT from Tailhunter Sportfishing for the Week of Feb. 8-15, 2023
East Cape
Photo by Mark Rayor on one of his early morning walks on the beach. “The gangs all here, biggest Sunday crowd so far this season!”
Another week of unpredictable, dicey weather kept anglers guessing when it would be worthwhile to try to fish the high spots not far offshore. However, when the North winds subsided, stir-crazy locals and visitors alike couldn’t resist the temptation of a chance to pull on a few good-sized Baja yellowtail.
Puerto Los Cabos
This month has lived up to normal expectations of unpredictable weather patterns and even more. We have seen cooler temperatures for the past few weeks, with consistent lows in the mid-50s and daytime highs only reaching up into the lower 70s. It is winter time and expected, though it seems a little more extreme this year, as north winds have been persistent and limited what options anglers could practically target. Water temperatures at this time have been in the 66 to 70-degree range, with swirling currents shifting daily and pushing in greener water.
Most local charters are doing a combination of trying for surface action and also working the rocky bottom structures. There is not much consistent action off the bottom now, and it is even tougher when the wind is blowing. However, we saw bonito, leopard grouper, pargo, snapper, whitefish, small amberjack, and triggerfish. We expect this action will improve as spring arrives and weather patterns stabilize.
The good news this past week is that the striped marlin have shown up in good numbers off the San Jose del Cabo area. Since bait schools are more scattered, so are these marlin. They are not found feeding on balled-up schools of bait as they were at this same time last season. Instead, the stripers are spread out, found tailing on the surface, and taking blind strikes while trolling lures. Sizes were averaging 70 to 120 pounds.
Despite the cooling water temperatures, dorado were still being found. Though numbers were less than in previous weeks, and the average size was a bit smaller, with most under 10 pounds, a few exceptions were up to 15 pounds. They were striking on trolled lures and ballyhoo; some charters landed up to four fish, others only one or two.
Yellowfin tuna action was slim. A few were still being found by dedicated anglers working the squid strips on the Iman Bank, including a 133-pound yellowfin landed on Friday from the super panga “Lydia.” Some days, a handful of tuna in the 40 to 70-pound range was also accounted for. Again the persistent north wind has made this a challenging option.
Not much action is being reported along the beach stretches. The lack of live bait, particularly the sardina, has hurt this usually productive sierra season.
There are many whales now. No shortage this season!! These mammals should be around for a couple of more months. …Good Fishing, Eric Brictson
Cabo San Lucas
Still managed a few of these little guys, even with the bite being slow this last week. If you have your lines in the water every day, you’re bound to run into a couple of hungry fish at some point! …Cabosurfcaster https://www.cabosurfcaster.com/
